Patience was a virtue says Paul Warne after Derby secure important win

Posted Sunday, April 23, 2023 by PA

Derby head coach Paul Warne revealed how patience was the key as his team beat Burton 1-0 in Sky Bet League One to climb back into the play-off places.

David McGoldrick’s penalty, his 25th goal of the season, decided the contest in front of a 29,000-plus crowd to give the Rams a two-point advantage over seventh-placed Peterborough with two games to play.

It might have been different if Deji Oshilaja had scored instead of hitting a post in the 11th minute, when Dale Taylor played him in.

Derby turned up the pressure in the second half and Burton cracked when Joe Powell tripped Max Bird and McGoldrick converted the 63rd-minute spot-kick.

Craig MacGillivray denied McGoldrick as Derby pressed for a second goal but Burton could have snatched a point when Burton skipper John Brayford headed over from a corner.

Warne said: “I don’t think anyone can leave the stadium and not say we were the better team, we had enough chances and defended resolutely and it’s given us a real opportunity with two (matches) to go.

“It was always going to be a difficult game and I said to the lads at half-time you’ve just got to be patient, don’t go off script, don’t think you’ve got to whack it 30 yards, just keep playing.

“We leave here really pleased with the group and they did have to be patient. Our counter-attacking play was really good, credit to Burton, we’ve had loads of teams come here and just sit behind the ball.

“But they didn’t, they tried to come at us and that’s what pleased me when they did put it on us and asked questions of us. Defensively we did really well and I’m really proud of that part as much as I am of our attacking play.”

Burton manager Dino Maamria was unhappy with the penalty decision.

He said: “I can’t help but think about the game being decided by a poor decision by the referee because it was never a penalty.

“Their player was totally looking for it, he threw himself to the ground, I felt the referee was weak in that moment and the pressure got to him, it was very, very soft.

“For me it was never a penalty in a million years, I’m not trying to take away from Derby because I thought they played really well, and put us under a lot of pressure.

“It was a good game but to be decided by a poor, poor decision by the referee is the annoying thing about it

“But I’ve told the lads ‘let’s not let a poor decision dishearten us’ because I thought my team was really brave today, we started and ended the game really good.”